Who painted Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series?

Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series was painted by Unknown in 1810.

Where can I see Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series?

Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series?

Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series is associated with Pahari Painting.

Artwork

Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series

Unknown , 1810

Tantric Devi on Shiva, from a Mandi Devi Series is an unspecified painting by the Pahari Painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1810 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work depicts a blue‑skinned goddess confronting a recumbent male figure on a pyre.

Accession no.: 2020.431
Credit line: Gift of Nancy and Wayne Hunnicutt

About this work

Overview

The work depicts a blue‑skinned goddess confronting a recumbent male figure on a pyre. She is shown with four arms, brandishing a sword, a severed demon’s head, a pair of shears and a noose. Her attire includes a tiger‑skin garment, a necklace of skulls and a cobra‑shaped torque. The setting is a cremation ground populated with skeletal elements and jackals.

Subject & Meaning

The composition illustrates the Hindu concept of Shakti, the active divine energy, overpowering Shiva, the passive principle. By portraying the goddess in a dominant, ferocious stance while Shiva lies inert, the image visualizes the interplay of creation and destruction, male and female, and the triumph of dynamic force over stillness, a theme used in tantric practice to confront mortality.

Technique & Style

Executed in the Pahari school of northern India, the painting employs vivid pigments and bold outlines characteristic of the region’s courtly art. The dramatic chiaroscuro of flame against the dark background heightens the sense of urgency, while the multiple arms are rendered with precise, linear detailing that emphasizes each symbolic attribute.

History & Provenance

Part of a series dedicated to the goddess Devi from the Mandi kingdom, the piece reflects the 18th‑century patronage of local rulers who favored intense mythological scenes. The series was likely produced for devotional or instructional use within tantric circles, and the work now resides in a public collection documenting the artistic output of the Pahari courts.